Ramen on a Rainy Night
by Frostghost
Summary: A moment of mistrust alters the path of a fallen shinobi. With a slightly better outlook in life, Naruto will rise from nothing to become the Hokage. It won't be easy. Naruto isn't all powerful after all, but he isn't alone either. Meanwhile, an old pervert seems to have decided that Naruto needs a lot of love to make up for his lonely childhood. Luckily, there is a law for that.
1. Chapter 1

**6 years post Nine Tails attack.**

The rain poured down in torrents, drenching everything in the dreary evening light. In an inconspicuous alleyway, a small blond boy huddled against the wall in a futile attempt to be sheltered from the downpour. His white shirt and gray pants already soaked through. As his stomach ached with hunger, the boy glanced at a nearby dumpster, wondering if he could find anything edible in it. He got up and trudged towards the waste container, his arms wrapped around himself for even a little bit of warmth. Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating a man standing in front of the boy.

The boy froze in place, gazing at the man who seemed to appear out of nowhere. The man wore an entirely black outfit, and carried a bundle of cloth on his back with straps around his torso. His face was completely hidden by an orange, spiral mask with a single eye hole. The bundle on the man's back shifted a bit, revealing the face of a child peeking over his shoulder. The child appeared to be a year younger than the boy. For a second, the boy thought he could see a third eye on the child's forehead, but the child yawned and shifted out of view again, apparently going back to sleep.

"What are you doing out here in the rain?" the masked man asked. His voice was kind, though a bit grizzled, as if his lungs were once damaged.

"I… I have no place to go… sir," the boy answered timidly, shivering from the cold, "E.. everyone I meet… pushes me away."

"You must be hungry," the masked man observed, "Come, I know place where they won't send you away."

With that the masked man turned away, walking down the alley. The boy hesitated for a second before following him. After taking several turns through the back alleys, the masked man stopped at an opening leading to the main street. He looked back as the boy caught up with him.

"Across this street is a ramen stand," the man pointed to a simple food stand, "The owners are good people. They will give you food."

The boy took a few steps forward, before looking back and asking, "Are you coming too?"

"No," the masked man replied, before switching to a joking manner, "I'm probably already late to where ever I have to be next."

The boy was a bit confused, but continued walking towards the warm glow of the open ramen stand. As the boy approached, he became nervous. The masked man could have just been tricking him. No one could be nice for no reason. The boy came to a stop near the corner of the stand, barely within the golden light pouring out into the street. As the boy looked through the opening he saw a cheerful old man working with a ten year old girl to prepare the noodles for the next batch. The smell of the broth enticed the boy to inch closer to the entrance.

The old man turned around and spotted the boy, before raising his arm. The boy quickly jumped behind the corner of the stand to avoid an object being thrown at him. When no object came, he peeked back around to see the old man beckoning him in, a reassuring smile on his face. The boy timidly stepped into the stand. The girl came around the counter with a towel in her hands. The boy shuffled away as the girl came close.

"It's ok, I don't bite," the girl said in soothing tone, "I'm Ayame, and this is my father Teuchi."

The boy relaxed a little bit, and allowed Ayame to get closer. Ayame used the towel to dry off the boy's hair, and rub down his body, though his clothes remained soaked. Ayame set the towel around his shoulders before helping him into a seat at the counter. Teuchi quickly served up some miso ramen, before setting the bowl in front of the boy. The boy's bright blue eyes grew wide at the sight of such a large meal, even though the bowl was the regular size. The boy looked at Teuchi with an expression of awe and hopefulness adorning his whiskered face. Teuchi gestured for the boy to dig in, and the boy's expression broke out into an opened mouth grin. The boy clumsily picked up a pair of chopsticks and began to eat as much of the ramen as he could.

* * *

Back in the alley, the masked man watched the boy begin to eat before turning towards a shadow by the corner.

"I know you're there," the masked man stated. As he said this, another man walked out of the shadow. This man's only visible features were his spikey white hair and his right eye. His lower face was cover by a mask, while his forehead and left eye were covered by a slanted Konoha ninja headband. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and pants, with a green jonin flak jacket.

"Kakashi Hatake," the masked man labeled the newcomer.

"Well, I guess my reputation precedes me," Kakashi calmly joked, while keeping a deceptively relaxed defensive body stance, "Though I wonder who you might be, and what your interest in that boy is."

"I have no interest in that boy," the masked man said, "I was just helping a fellow orphan out. As for who I am, it is better if we find somewhere else to speak."

The masked man leapt up onto the roof of the building and began traversing the village. He moved quickly but steadily from roof to roof, careful not to wake the child on his back. Kakashi followed behind, wary in case he was being led into a trap. Eventually, the two men touched down in the cemetery. The masked man walked up to the memorial stone before turning towards Kakashi.

"Before you can know who I am you should listen to this story I have to tell you," the masked man stated. Kakashi made no response, so the masked man continued, "What would you say? If I told you there was a being, created solely to revive the rabbit goddess sealed away in the moon by the sage of six paths."

"I'd say that sounds like the start to a fairy tale," Kakashi replied.

"Heh, I guess so, but everything I'm about to say is true," the masked man affirmed, "This being was called Zetsu. It was a deceitful creature that hid in the shadows for a millennium, quietly influencing certain individuals to shape the world into what it is today. Or at least, what it was during the Warring Clans era. During this time, Zetsu planted the idea of the existence of a powerful genjutsu. Infinite Tsukuyomi, with which the caster could create the perfect world. A world free of war, disease, death. The only requirement was to bring the nine tailed beasts together. But it was all a lie, meant to trick a powerful shinobi into reforming the ten tails, which Zetsu needed to revive the rabbit goddess to her full glory. Madara Uchiha was taken by the idea of a perfect world and laid plans to see it through to completion. I was also tricked into believing in it. Recently, Zetsu and I were sent to recruit a powerful shinobi from the Land of Rain by the name of Nagato. Nagato's closest friend had recently died so he should have been easily swayed, but he was less trusting than we expected. He attacked us, and used a jutsu to steal Zetsu's soul, and in the process learned all of his memories. After that he spared me, and told be the truth of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Thus, I find myself here today."

Kakashi stayed silent for a minute to let it all sink in, before saying, "That is quite the story. What proof do you have to make me believe it?"

"I have only my word," the masked man replied, before reaching up and lifting his mask, "And my face."

"Obito!" Kakashi gasped in surprise. The man's face was horrible deformed on the right side, and his left eye was missing, but Kakashi could still recognize his former teammate.

"Hey, Kakashi," Obito smiled sadly, "Its been awhile, hasn't it?"

"H… How?" Kakashi fell to his knees in shock.

"After I was buried under that rock pile, Zetsu found me and brought be before Madara," Obito explained, "At first, I wasn't interested in Madara's plans, but after Rin died…"

"Obito," Kakashi looked down in guilt, "I couldn't protect her, like I promised you."

"It's ok Kakashi," Obito crouched to look Kakashi in the eye, "I know now that it was a setup to bring me to Madara's side. Zetsu manipulated the Kiri ninja into sealing the Three Tails into Rin. Then he placed a genjutsu on her to make her think the only option she had was to kill herself, instead of waiting for sensei to fix the seal. I don't blame you for what happened."

"I still should have been able to do something," Kakashi mumbled, a tear falling from his eye.

"It's in the past now," Obito stated as he stood back up, "All we can do is to continue moving forward."

Kakashi nodded his head before standing up. After recollecting himself for a minute, he asked, "Will you be returning to Konoha now?"

"No," Obito shook his head, "There are some things that I did under Madara's command, that I have no excuse for. It wouldn't be right to return to Konoha now."

"What happened?" Kakashi inquired.

"I'd rather not say right now," Obito admitted, "Let's leave this conversation on a good note. Maybe if we meet again in the future, I'll tell you the whole story."

At this moment the bundle on Obito's back shifted a little before crying out briefly.

"What's with the child?" Kakashi asked and Obito reached back to soothe the sleeping five year old.

"She was an experiment Zetsu was performing," Obito explained, "If Nagato had joined us, he would have abandoned the project and killed her. When I found her, I decided to give her a chance though. I decided to call her Kaguya. I'm taking her to someone who can look after her, or can deal with her in case she takes after her namesake."

Kakashi only nods in response.

"That boy from earlier," Obito inquires, "He's sensei's son, isn't he?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied, "I've been checking in on him occasionally in between my missions. Sometime during my last mission, which lasted three months, he was kicked out of the orphanage. I was going to bring him to the Hokage, but you found him first."

"Have you spoken to him directly?" Obito asked.

"No," Kakashi admits, "I can't face him without thinking of sensei. It would be better if I just protected him from afar."

"He doesn't need a guardian in the shadows," Obito stated, "He needs someone to acknowledge him. You have to look past your grief and be there to support him. At least be his friend. He needs as many friends as he can get."

"I… I'll try," Kakashi gave in.

"Good," Obito affirmed, "I need to get going now. Goodbye, Kakashi."

Kakashi nods, before Obito disappears into a swilling vortex originating from his eye. Kakashi stands there alone for a minute. He looks over at Obito's and Rin's grave stones, then turns and head back into the villiage.

* * *

Back at the ramen stand, the boy is still eating his bowl of ramen. As he chews the last of the noodles he looks up at the stand owner and his daughter. They allowed him into this stand and gave him this food out of kindness. That must make ramen the greatest food ever. As the boy thought this, a man in ninja gear with spikey white hair entered the stand.

"One miso ramen," the man ordered.

"Coming right up," Teuchi responded.

"Oh, hello," the man turned to the boy, "My name is Kakashi. What's yours?"

The man's lone eye seemed to smile in a friendly manner. Ramen is definitely the best, the boy decided before proclaiming, "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hello, thank you for reading this first chapter. Fair warning: while I do have the general outline for this story complete, I'm unsure whether or not I'll have the time to upload chapters at a steady rate. Especially since I want to create my own original comic, so this story is basically just practice for my storytelling skills. That being said, I'll do my best to finish it eventually, so please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **Somewhere in the Land of Fire.**

* * *

The sun shone brightly on lush forests and the gentle wind stirred grassy fields. Off to the side of a remote county road, a tall, white haired man sat in the shade looking through a stack of papers. Occasionally, he would stop and giggle perversely to himself as he reread a juicy scene.

"Hehe, the fans will love this part," the Gallant Jiraiya mused as he reviewed his latest work of literature, "This one is just about ready to go to the publishers."

As Jiraiya continued to peruse his exotic work, he took notice of the position of the sun. He tucked his papers away into a satchel before sighing, "Well it's just about time for a report from the old man."

Jiraiya bit his thumb and smeared the blood across his palm before performing a sequence of hand signs. ' _Summoning Jutsu,'_ Jiraiya said to himself before a large toad poofed into existence in front of him in a cloud of smoke. The toad acknowledged Jiraiya before regurgitating a scroll from its mouth. As he took the scroll from its outstretched toungue, the toad disappeared again in a poof of smoke.

"Let's see what we got here," Jiraiya commented as he opened the scroll, "Village security hasn't been breached, that's great to hear. Shinobi forces have fully recovered from the Nine Tails attack with the latest batch of genin. I wonder how many promising future kunoichi there are? Wants me to investigate rumors of a newly appointed Mizukage in Kiri? Already on it sensei. Oh, here's a bit about Naruto. It seems like Kakashi has been looking after him for the past few months."

As he read that last part, Jiraiya set the scroll down while a somber look came into his eye. For a moment, he reminisced about his former blond-haired student, and that fiery redhead that fell in love with him. He smiled at the memory before saying, "Damn, if a broken kid like Kakashi could overcome his grief, then I have no excuse."

"It's about time I went to go see my godson," with that Jiraiya stood up and began walking down the road, "Hmm, its been quite a while since I was in Konoha. I wonder how well the hot springs are doing on the female side of the business?"

* * *

 **In Konoha.**

At this very moment, Hinata was very scared. This was one of the very few days she was let out of the Hyuuga compound to play on the playground. Her status as the Hyuuga heiress usually caused other kids to avoid her, so she didn't have any close friends and was left to play alone. Today she ended up straying away from the playground into the woods nearby, only to be cornered by a group of older kids.

"Hey, hey, look at her eyes, she's a freak," one of the boys said to his friends.

Hinata looked down hoping they wouldn't keep looking at her pupil-less eyes.

"Heh, yeah, she's one of those Hyuuga snobs who think there better than us," another boy said.

"Is that true huh?" the lead boy asked Hinata by getting in her face, "Do you think your better than us? Huh?"

"You should apologize to us," the third boy spoke up.

"Yeah, apologize," the second boy agreed, "apologize for your whole clan."

"I'm sorry," Hinata said meekly.

"What was that?" the first boy sneered, "I can't hear you."

"I'm sorry," Hinata said a bit louder.

"That's not good enough," the first boy grabbed her hair and forced her head down into a bow. The other boys started to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Hinata began to tremble on the verge of tears.

"HEY! Cut that out," a newcomer shouted at them.

"Eh, who are you?" the lead boy asked, "Get lost, this none of your business."

Hinata turned her head to see a blonde kid with bright blue eyes and cute whisker marks adorning his cheeks.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the boy proclaimed, "And I'm going to kick your ass, dattebayo!"

The boys began laughing at the smaller and outnumbered kid.

"I'll show you not to look down on me," Naruto grit his teeth before going though a few hand signs and calling out, " _Clone Jutsu_."

The group of boys were briefly apprehensive by the display of ninja arts. Until they saw the pair of clones poof into existence in a measly pile of patheticness. The boys began laughing before grabbing Naruto by his shirt and beating him with their fists. After a few minutes the boys were satisfied that he was thoroughly beaten and left him on the ground as they ran off laughing. Meanwhile, Hinata watched the whole thing, now completely forgotten.

"Um…" Hinata approached her savior.

"Ugg, ow," Naruto got back up before turning to Hinata, "Oh, hi! Those bullies are gone now. Are you alright?"

Hinata stumbled to respond, "Oh, um, I- "

"LADY HINATA!" just then Hinata's guardian, Ko, found her. Ko grabbed her hand and began leading her away, "Lady Hinata, what are you doing out here? You should stay away from that boy."

"But I- " Hinata tried to protest while looking back at Naruto. He had a sad, but slightly understanding expression on his face. As if this situation had happened before. Hinata wanted to go back and help him but before she could act he was already out of sight.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto found himself walking with Kakashi to his first day at the academy. As the pair arrived, they found the yard outside of the academy already full of new students and their parents. The most prominent of which included the clan heads of Konoha's 7 biggest clans with their heirs or heiresses.

"See, big brother Kakashi, I told you we would be late," Naruto exclaimed indignantly.

"Meh, meh Naruto," Kakashi waved of his complaints, "We're only 3 minutes late, and the Hokage hasn't even arrived to give the opening speech. Besides, we couldn't let that old lady cross the street by herself."

"What old lady?" Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion, "I don't remember seeing any old ladies on the way here."

"Eh, she was a sneaky ninja old lady," Kakashi replied, thinking he should reconsider his list of automatic excuses, "You couldn't have seen her if she was a ninja."

"Oh," Naruto believed it completely, "I'll be able to see her when I go to the academy though, right?"

"Maybe in a few years," Kakashi started to wonder about what kind of hole he dug himself into. Seeing an opportunity to change the subject, Kakashi pointed to the front gate, "Oh look, the Hokage is here."

The crowd quieted down as an old man made his way to the front steps of the Academy. He wore white robes with red clothing underneath. On top his head rested a red and white pentagon shaped hat, displaying his status as leader of the village. As he made his way towards the Academy the crowd parted and bowed. The respect given was not just to the village leader, but also to a man who had lived so long in a world where so many shionbi die young.

"Hey, Old Man!" Naruto called out friendly manner, while waving at the Hokage, "Did ya come here just to see me become an awsome kickass ninja!"

Several nearby adults glared at Naruto and told him to hush, but Hiruzen just smiled and waved back, "I'm glad to see you here today, Naruto."

"In fact, I'm glad to see all of you here," Hiruzen addressed the whole crowd, "To the parents here today, I'm sure it will be difficult to see your sons and daughters take on such a dangerous job in becoming a ninja. However, there is no greater responsibility than the protection of one's village. The shinobi of Konoha are never left behind and there sacrifice are never forgotten. To the children who are just joining this Academy, today is you first step on your way to becoming ninja of Konoha. You are the future of this village and its people. May the Will of Fire burn within you as you become the protectors of our nation and our home. I wish you all good luck. Without further delay, you may now enter the building and find your classroom."

With that the Hokage stepped aside to allow the new students to file into the building.

"Have a good day, Naruto," Kakashi gave an impression of a smile with his only visible eye, "I'll be here this afternoon and we can get ramen for dinner."

"Yay! Ramen!" Naruto grinned excitedly, "Don't be late though."

"Of course not," Kakashi exclaimed with mock indignation.

Naruto looked at Kakashi suspiciously before turning to follow the other kids into the building. Once inside, he waded through the crowd until he found his homeroom. He quickly found a seat in between two other kids who he assumed where boys.

"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I'm going to be the Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.

The kid on his left scoffed before saying, "I'm Satsu- err, I mean Sasuke."

The kid to his right yawned before sleepily responding, "I'm Shikama-."

The kid was cut off as a sudden comotion happened across the room when several girls shrieked at the sight of bugs crawling up the sleeve of a dark haired kid with round tinted glasses.

"Hey Sasuke. Hi Shikamaru," Naruto greeted them enthusiastically. Sasuke seemed satisfied with that answer and went back to watching the teacher prepare for class. Shikamaru appear disgruntled for a moment but shrugged it off and fell back asleep, as if it was to much effort to address the issue.

A few rows behind the trio a shy girl watched the blonde. ' _He's in my class!'_ Hinata thought to herself, ' _I should thank him for saving me yesterday.'_ But before she could act the teacher called for everyone to settle down as class began.

* * *

Outside, Kakashi waited until all of the students entered the building before approaching the Hokage, "Lord Hokage."

"Ah, Kakashi," Sarutobi acknowledged him, "Come with me, the council will be addressing your request today. Can't have you being late for that, now can we."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Kakashi fell into step with Sarutobi as he began making his way back to the Hokage Tower.

"About that report you gave me a few weeks ago," Sarutobi discreetly mentioned, "It was rather… interesting. It will be filed away as an S-rank rumor for now, unless any evidence to support it comes up. Per your request, the shinobi you encountered will remain unnamed in our records. However, should he commit, or already have committed, any crimes against Konoha, or the Land of Fire, he will immediately be placed in the bingo book under his real name."

"I understand Lord Hokage," Kakashi accepted.

"Good, we're here," Sarutobi confirmed as they reached the Hokage Tower.

Once inside, they made their way to the council chambers where 14 other people had gathered in a semi-circle. On the left side of the room the 7 clan heads were settling in from attending the Academy entrance ceremony with their kids. The exception was the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan heads, as they didn't attend the ceremony. The clan heads included: Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuuga, Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, Chouza Akamichi, Inochi Yamanaka, and Shikaku Nara. On the right side of the room sat the 3 elder advisors and the 4 civilian department heads. The 3 elders were known as Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado. The 4 department heads included: the Head of Banking and Village Finances, the Head of Trade and Foreign Relations, the Head of Public Health and Safety, and the Head of Village Upkeep and Construction.

Each department oversaw a different aspect of the civilian concerns in the village. The Department of Finances oversaw the village economy and the distribution of money. The Department of Trade oversaw the civilian businesses and the import and export of food and supplies. The Department of Public Health oversaw the hospitals and ensuring they were equipped to handle any injury, disease or treatment. The Department of Village Upkeep oversaw the maintenance of public buildings and parks, as well as the construction of new buildings and the expansion of the village.

"Everyone is here? Good," Sarutobi took his place at the head of the room, "Seeing as Kakashi is here now let's begin with his case. Kakashi Hatake has requested the adoption of the Nine Tails jinjuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. What is the council's decision?"

Some of the members muttered among themselves for a minute, before Koharu spoke up, "I believe a debate regarding the adoption of the village jinjuriki already took place a month after the Nine Tails attack. In that debate it was determined that the boy couldn't be adopted by any clan or civilian to prevent the child from being influenced in any way."

"That's not completely accurate," Inochi spoke up, "I believe the exact decision was that no one from a clan could adopt Naruto to prevent an imbalance of power. It was also determined that a civilian would be unsuited to raising a jinjuriki. The final agreement did not include anything regarding shinobi independent of any clan."

"Eh, just let him adopt the boy," Tsume said nonchalantly, "What harm could it do?"

"Kakashi's psyche report for the past few years show that he is mentally unstable and unsuitable to raise a child," Homura pointed out, "He has a reputation for being late to any appointment, takes on more anbu missions above the mental load for any ninja, not to mention several of those missions were considered suicidal."

"He's been taking care of the boy for the past few weeks already," Chouza mentioned, "Perhaps his mental condition can be improved and reevaluated. The Yamanaka's can help with the recovery if need be."

"Regardless of Kakashi's qualifications as a parent, any shinobi that adopts the jinjuriki will gain the boy's support and power," Fugaku stated, "I stand by the notion that the village jinjuriki must be kept neutral and cannot be adopted by anyone, ninja or civilian."

"At this point, it wouldn't be necessary to adopt the boy to gain his support," Shibi analyzed, "Simply befriending him would be enough to earn his devotion."

"That can't be helped," the Koharu threw in, "We can't just restrict the boy from speaking to anyone ever. Instead I'm more concerned about how other villages might react to this. Especially if it is _Sharingan_ Kakashi who adopts the boy."

"We must also consider what impact this may have on the civilian population," the Head of Public Health put forth, "While those of us on the civilian portion of the council have a general understanding of shinobi affairs to aid us in the management of a ninja village, the average civilian is prone to assumptions. If the rumor that the village jinjuriki has a ninja guardian spreads around, some people might jump to the conclusion that the seal is unstable and the container needs to be under surveillance. Such notions would cause a panic."

"There is no reason to assume that civilians will act that way," the Head of Trading negated.

"It is unnecessary for the jinjuriki to have a family as long as he is properly trained in the ninja arts and displays loyalty to the village," Danzo stated firmly.

The council muttered amongst themselves another few minutes, until Sarutobi spoke up, "Does anyone else have something to say? What about you Kakashi?"

Kakashi, who had remained silent so far, stepped forward, his body language not betraying his inner emotions.

"Everything said about my reputation is true. I'm unfit to raise a child," as he said this, his expression changed to one that clearly showed determination, "But please give me the chance to try. I promise you I'll make Naruto a shinobi this village can be proud of."

The council was silent for a moment before Sarutobi spoke up again, "If that is all, then let us vote on the matter. All in favor of allowing Kakashi to adopt Naruto Uzumaki raise your hand."

Sarutobi, Tsume, Inochi, Chouza, Shikaku, and the Head of Trading all raised their hands.

"Six," Sarutobi counted, "Then how many are in favor of the villiage jinjuriki remaining neutral without any legal guardian, civilian or ninja."

Fugaku, Hiashi, Shibi, Danzo, Koharu, Homura, the Head of Finance, the Head of Public Health, and the Head of Village Upkeep all raised their hands.

"Nine," Sarutobi sighs disappointedly, "By a vote of 6 to 9, Naruto Uzumaki will remain an orphan and cannot be adopted by any shinobi or civilian from this day forward. Kakashi, I believe Naruto has been living at your apartment for the past few weeks. As the orphanage has chosen to banish Naruto from the premises, I will provide Naruto with his own apartment using the Hokage funds. He will be moved into his new place by the end of the week, at which point you will be given the payment of a C-rank for temporarily housing the jinjuriki for a short period of time."

"I… I understand… Lord Hokage," Kakashi admitted in defeat.

"You are still permitted to see him anytime you wish, and you may become his jonin sensei, should he attain the rank of genin," Sarutobi added.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," Kakashi said gratefully before leaving the council chambers. As soon as he left the council continued onto the next issue of debate.

* * *

By time lunch came around, Naruto was bored out of his mind. The whole morning was just the teacher going on and on about some dull math and history lessons they were going to cover over the course of the year. Naruto kept fidgeting in his seat wishing he could do something, anything to pass the time in an interesting way. He was tempted to join Shikamaru in taking a nap, but advice Kakashi gave him a few days ago kept popping up in his head. Kakashi told him he should pay attention in class, even if it wasn't that fun. Gathering and remembering information perfectly was a key part of being a ninja, alongside having the patience to do so. So, Naruto paid attention to every word the teacher spoke, even if he didn't understand how any of it could be related to being a ninja.

As the lunch bell rang, Naruto jumped up excitedly. Finally, he could get up and move around. Maybe he could even make a few new friends during recess. Naruto grabbed a bento Kakashi made him this morning from his cubby where the younger students put their things for the day. As he made his way outside he chose to sit underneath a tree to eat.

He looked around to see if any one else would join him, but none of the other kids approached him. The clan children didn't seem to have any ill intention to this, as they were just gathering in their own little groups of friends. The civilian kids however, were a different story. Most of them were clearly avoiding Naruto, some going even as far to pretend he didn't even exist.

Naruto was slightly saddened by this as he started to take a bite of his lunch. It wasn't bad, wasn't great either, and it definitely wasn't ramen. Kakashi could cook decently enough, even though he didn't put much effort into making it taste good, just passible, but it was the thought behind it that mattered the most to Naruto. This meal was prepared by someone who seemed to care about him, and that lessened the loneliness he was feeling.

As Naruto continued to eat his lunch a violet haired girl from one of the older classes walked over to him. She was perhaps about 3 years older than him. She wore a simple white shirt with an orange skirt and black ninja sandals.

"Hey there, why are you sitting all the way over here by yourself?" the girl asked.

"Heh, I guess just don't have that many friends yet," Naruto replied as he looked up from his meal.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a group of friends eventually," the girl encouraged, "I'm Anko, Anko Mitarashi."

"I'm Naruto," Naruto introduced himself, "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hello Naruto," Anko smiled at him, "You know, you kind of remind me of myself during my first year."

"Huh? Really?" Naruto inquired.

"Yup," Anko began to elaborate, "I started out without any friends because everyone was intimidated by my father."

"Oh," Naruto replied, "Who's your father?"

"Orochimaru of the Sannin," Anko stated proudly, "Well, technically he's my godfather. He was my mother's sensei before she died, leaving me to be raised by him."

"Ok," Naruto responded.

"You have no idea who he is, do you?" Anko realized as Naruto nodded his head, "Well, he's the head of Konoha's research division and one of the legendary three Sannin. He's a little creepy at times, but I know he's really nice underneath. He even taught me how to summon snakes!"

As she said this, a snake slithered out of Anko's sleeve and hissed at Naruto.

"That's so cool, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as the snake disappeared back into her sleeve.

"Hey, why don't I introduce you to my friends," Anko said as she waived over a group of three girls.

"This here is Naruto," Anko told her friends as the approached, "Naruto this is Kurenai Yuhi, Hana Inuzuka, and Yugao Uzuki."

Anko pointed to each girl as she introduced them. Kurenai was dark haired with vibrant red eyes and was wearing a red dress. Hana was a brunette with red marks adorning her face, she had her hair pulled up into a pony tail. Three puppies trialed around her feet. Yugao appeared to be a year older than the rest of the group. She had violet hair like Anko and was wearing a black outfit reminiscent of anbu gear. As all of them sat down to each lunch, Naruto began to enthusiastically chat with the older girls.

Across the school yard, the shy Hyuuga heiress watch the group laugh at one of Naruto's funny antics. _'I want to go over there,'_ Hinata thought, _'But what if they think I'm rude for interrupting them.'_ She continued to sit alone, but unnoticed as she tried and failed to find the courage to walk over and speak to the boy that saved her.

* * *

Hinata only half paid attention during the afternoon class. Every few minutes she would glance nervously at Naruto, hoping he might recognize her and make the first move. As the first day at the Academy came to an end, Hinata steeled herself to confront Naruto. Unable to catch his attention as students filed out of the classroom, she moved ahead to the fence outside the Academy to cut him off as he left.

As Naruto passed by, Hinata gathered herself and spoke up, "Narut-"

 _*Growl!*_ Hinata was cut off as Naruto's stomach made itself known.

"Man, I could go for some ramen right now, but Kakashi's late again," Naruto said to himself, "Eh, I'll just meet him at Ichiraku's."

Just as Naruto was about to skip off someone stopped him in his tracks before saying, "Whoa there, don't you know a man should always listen to a woman when she's trying to get his attention."

The person was a tall man with long, spikey white hair, and red markings on his face. The man wore a headband with the kanji for oil, a red haori, a green kimono with matching pants, wooden sandals and carried a large scroll on his back.

"Huh?" Naruto turned to see who the man was talking about, "Oh, I didn't notice you. You're that girl from yesterday! Hinata, was it? Did you want something?"

"Y-yes," Hinata stuttered in surprise, "I-I wanted to t-thank you for saving me y-yesterday."

"Eh, it was nothing," Naruto scratched behind his head, "I'll always jump in to help a pretty girl in trouble dattebayo!"

Hinata's face took on the color of a tomato as she mumbled, "P-pretty?"

"Are you feeling ok? Are you sick?" Naruto misinterpreted her expression, "How about you come with me to get some ramen? It'll help you feel better!"

"S-sure," Hinata's heart started beating faster.

"Hold on a second," Naruto turned to the man that halted him, "Who are you again?"

"Oh me," the man struck a dramatic pose, "I'm glad you asked. I'm the gallant sage of the toads, one of the legendary Sannin. I've fought countless enemies and stole the hearts of countless damsels. Men want to be me, women want to be with me. I'm the one, the only, Jiraiya!"

"Eh, doesn't ring a bell," Naruto was unimpressed.

" _Ack-"_ Jiraiya's pose was ruined as he fell before he recovered and sat up, "Ah, I'm sure you just haven't learned about important shinobi in the Academy yet. How about I pay for the ramen while I tell you about my adventures."

"Ramen!" Naruto became considerably more interested, "Ok, let's go!"

Naruto grabbed a blushing Hinata by the hand and began pulling her towards his favorite place in the village.

A little while later, the three of them were sitting down at Ichiraku's, each enjoying a bowl of miso ramen while Jiraiya recounted the first time he visited the land of the toads, Mount Myoboku. At this time Kakashi made his entrance.

"Ah, there you are Naruto, I should have known," Kakashi commented as he pushed aside the cloth hanging over the entrance, "Oh, Lord Jiraiya, I didn't realize you were near the village."

"I decided to visit a person I was overdue to meet," Jiraiya replied.

"Big brother Kakashi, you were late again," Naruto accused.

"Heh-heh, I'm sorry, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around," Kakashi's eye seemed to smile innocently.

"Oh," Naruto still couldn't tell that he was lying.

"Hey, Naruto I need to talk to you for a minute, will you come out side," Kakashi requested.

"Ok," Naruto complied before turning to Hinata, "Make sure no one touches my ramen."

As Naruto walked outside, Kakashi sighed as he prepared himself for what was to come next, "Naruto I have some bad news."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi, now paying close attention.

"I tried adopting you today," Kakashi revealed, "But I was denied."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed in shock, "Why?"

"As a high-ranking ninja I have to take on a lot of risky missions," Kakashi told only half of the truth, "If I were to die on one of those missions you would be back to where you started. That is why the council wouldn't agree to let you stay with me. With in a week you'll be moving out of my home and into your own apartment provided by the Hokage. Don't worry, I'll still be able to see you in between missions. I'll come by everyday that I'm not outside the village."

Naruto started to tear up before he ran forward and hugged Kakashi. Burying his face into Kakashi's stomach he cried out, "It's ok big brother Kakashi, I'm so glad that you tried to adopt me. No one's ever done that before. As long as I can still see you as much as possible I'll be happy."

Kakashi stood there for a moment as a tear escaped his visible eye. He hugged Naruto back briefly before guiding him back into Ichiraku's to finish his ramen.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **And there's chapter 2. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story. The positive feed back helped me write this chapter sooner than I originally planned.**

 **To address those of you who have asked about the harem: I feel as if almost any girl in canon can be paired with Naruto in a believable way. Because of this I currently have no set limit on how many girls can be in the harem. I'll keep on adding them one at a time until I reach a point where I feel like I can't handle any more. I intend to build up each relationship throughout the story, so it may be a while before some girls show any romantic interest in Naruto. I will not do any yoai pairings.**

 **You may have noticed I lowered the ages of some of the older female characters. This is to make them more likely to join the harem. This may affect certain plot points, such as Anko being Orochimaru's adoptive daughter, as she would have been too young to be his apprentice, and pushing back the date of his betrayal. Tsunade will not be de-aged and will not be a part of the harem, her role as one on the Sannin is too important to change. None of the moms (Tsunami, Mikoto, Yoshino, etc.) will be included into the harem. The only one I might consider is Tsume, as she doesn't have a living husband that I know of.**

 **The prioritization for adding girls to the harem are as follows:**

 **Absolutely confirmed:**

 **-Hinata, Haku, Temari, Shizune, Anko**

 **High Priority:**

 **-Ino, Ayame, Kurotsuchi, Fu, Konan, Mei, Tayuya**

 **Intermediate Priority:**

 **-Kurenai, Hana, Yugao, Tenten, Sakura, Karui, Mabui, Kaguya, Yugito, Karin**

 **Lower Priority:**

 **-Matsuri, Guren, Honoka, Pakura, Samui, Isaribi, Yakumo, Tamaki**

 **I'm open to including other filler characters, but I'll have to rewatch the episodes they appear in before I decide how to include them in the story. The same goes for the movie girls, as I only remember the last three movies (RTN, The Last, Boruto). I'll also consider adding Boruto era girls (like Mirai, or that cat girl Wasabi) by making them born sooner.**

 **Keep in mind that story progression and character development take precedence over adding more girls to the list just for the sake of it. It isn't fun when the character isn't done justice in their development.**

 **Edit: I rushed through the A/N when I first uploaded this chapter because my computer's battery was dying. I have now reworked the harem list to include some characters I forgot.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter was rewritten and expanded as of 1-14-2018**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **Two years later.**

 **Naruto: 8 years old.**

Bright morning sunlight filtered through the window, waking Naruto from a peaceful sleep. As he stretched and got out of bed, Naruto felt a rush of energy and excitement at the prospect of what this new day could bring. This feeling was dampened when he went to get dressed, only to suddenly find himself in a slight dilemma. All of his usual clothes were in dire need of being washed. The ones he wore yesterday were especially grimy from training. As he was about to begin sorting through the piles strewn about his room for the least smelly shirt, he remembered an outfit he had bought just the other day.

He briefly searched his closet before pulling out the prized garb and holding it up like a trophy. It was a bright orange jacket with blue shoulders and had a red swirl on the back like the Konoha ninja flak jackets. It even came with matching orange pants. Every ninja needed a signature look, and what better look for Naruto than to be completely covered in his favorite color.

"Everyone will be astounded by my amazing new look," Naruto said to himself with a grin, imagining the look on everyone's face when he walked into the class today. He originally was going to save the debut of this outfit for a special occasion, maybe even accompanied with a flashy prank to emphasize it even more, but it didn't hurt to give an early appearance.

After scarfing down a cup of instant ramen, Naruto left his apartment, proudly displaying his incredible ninja gear for the whole of Konoha to see. As he walked down the street, Naruto noticed he was drawing attention from all of the people who usually never acknowledge his existence. This solidified the outfit's positive traits in his mind. It was better to be stared at than to be ignored. Although, big brother Kakashi, Pervy Sage, the Old Man and Hinata never ignored him, so maybe he didn't need so much attention from the rest of the village. It was something he would think about later, but right now he was just enjoying being acknowledged for once. As he continued on his way to the Academy he caught sight of a violet haired girl walking with a brunet with three dogs trailing behind them.

"Hey, Anko, Hana," Naruto called out.

"Hey, Naruto," Anko called out, just as Naruto caught up with them. The three pups yipped their own greeting, while Hana gave a polite, "Hello Naruto."

"I haven't seen you in quite a while," Naruto commented, "How do you like my awesome new outfit?"

"Well…" Hana trailed off, unable to find anything good to say about the orange monstrosity currently in front of her.

Anko didn't reply, but she had an odd twitch in her eye as she kept her faced suspiciously neutral. Slowly she carefully lifted a kunai from her pouch and held it in front of her in a somewhat threatening position.

"Um, Anko, what are you doing?" Naruto asked nervously, taking a small step back.

"Don't move Naruto," Anko commanded, "There is one of the most horrifying things in existence is on you right now, and it needs to die."

Naruto froze, imagining a giant spider on his shoulder. Anko took this opportunity to leap forward and pin Naruto to the ground. Straddling him as she began cutting the orange jumpsuit while he was still wearing it.

"Hey! Your ruining my awesome new ninja outfit," Naruto struggled to get away from Anko as his precious jacket was torn and ruined.

"Hold still Naruto," Anko demanded with an expression of fierce determination, "I'll get this crime against humanity off you."

With that she tore the mutilated jacket off of Naruto. She threw the shredded remains a safe distance away before using a fire jutsu to burn them to ash. With that she stood up and dusted herself off while congratulating herself on a job well done, leaving Naruto on the ground in a traumatized heap.

"Sorry Naruto," Hana tried to hide a laugh as she helped the boy up, "But that wasn't a very appealing look."

"I guess I should have gotten a second opinion before buying that," Naruto reluctantly admitted, looking down at his now bare chest in despair, "But now I don't have a shirt."

"Be thankful I didn't destroy your pants as well," Anko pointed out.

"What did you have against that jacket anyway? You're wearing an orange skirt," Naruto pouted indignantly.

"It's only burnt orange," Anko defended, "That thing was bright orange and covered most of your body. That's too much orange."

"Blasphemy, there is never a thing as too much orange," Naruto proclaimed with an offended expression.

"Ok, let's just calm down," Hana stepped in to prevent any further escalation, "Here Naruto I have an extra shirt I can let you borrow for the day. I always carry a spare with me when the triplets are shedding."

The three dogs took on innocent expressions at being called out. Hana pulled out a black t-shirt from her pouch and handed it to Naruto. As he put it on, it was apparent that it was a bit too big for him, so Hana helped tie up the slack with a knot in the back.

"There that should do for now," Hana commented as she looked Naruto over, "You know, you look good in black Naruto."

"You think so?" Naruto asked curiously as his anger began to fade.

"Yup, maybe you should get a darker outfit next time," Hana suggested.

"If you still want orange, it could have a few small stripes," Anko added in as an effort to make up for destroying his clothes.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, dattebayo," Naruto smiled as the trio continued on their way to the Academy.

"So, Naruto, how have you been doing since we last saw you?" Hana inquired.

"Eh, I've been alright," Naruto replied, "I've been training my taijutsu really hard lately."

"Are you any good?" Anko asked with a hint of a dare in her voice.

"Yup," Naruto replied with absolute confidence, "Big bro Kakashi has been helping me train in the Academy style."

"Maybe, we can spar some time and see if you're really any good," Anko challenged.

"Hah, you're on, dattebayo," Naruto accepted with a grin, "I'm the third top student in my class, I'll take you on anytime."

"Only third?" Anko teased in a light-hearted tone, "How do you think you can take me on if you're not the best?"

"Well I could be higher," Naruto claimed, "But some of the teachers don't like me for some reason, so they give me harder assignments sometimes. That's what brings my grades down."

"Have you told anyone about this?" Hana asked, somewhat concerned.

"Nah," Naruto admitted, "It doesn't matter anyway. The new teacher, Iruka-sensei, treats me fairly. I think he still hates me like the others, but he always gives me the same assignments as everyone else. Besides, I have Hinata to help me study."

"Hinata?" Anko inquired.

"Oh yeah, you haven't met Hinata before," Naruto realized, "She's my best friend. She's really quiet most of the time, but also really nice and helps me out when ever I need it. I think we met on the same day as I met you two."

"You'll have to introduce us sometime," Hana commented.

"So, you actually study sometimes, not just goof off," Anko said with a joking tone in her voice.

"Well, I did skip class a few times with Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba," Naruto confessed, "And I occasionally play a few pranks to keep things entertaining."

"A few pranks huh," Anko repeated in a suddenly dangerous innocent tone, "Did you do anything regarding orange paint in the upper classrooms?"

"Wait a second, did you say Kiba skipped class with you?" Hana asked with sudden interest, "Please elaborate, this could be great blackmail."

Sensing sudden danger to himself and to one of his friends, Naruto quickly looked around for an escape, "Hey, look we're almost at the Academy, I should get to class quickly. See you later, dattebayo."

Naruto made a break for it, with Anko and Hana hot in pursuit. The triplets tried to cut him off, but were slowed by the crowd of student's entering the Academy.

"Hey, come back here, I'm not finished with you," Anko called out.

* * *

Later that day, the class was out side practicing taijutsu. This would be one of the first days that the students were allowed to test themselves against each other in a sparing match. Naruto spotted Anko, Hana, and Kurenai with a group of older students who were also sparing across the training yard. He discreetly positioned himself behind Hinata to hide from their line of sight. Hinata started to blush from the close proximity of her closest friend and secret crush.

"Now will Hinata Hyuuga and Ino Yamanaka step into the ring," Iruka announced.

"Yeah! Go Hinata! You'll win this for sure, dattebayo!" Naruto cheered for his red-faced friend, forgetting that his cover was walking away to step up to the ring.

"You can do this Ino, show her who's boss," A pink haired girl named Sakura encouraged her blond friend.

"In position…" Iurka prompted as the two girls stood across from each other in the sparring ring, "Match start."

Ino rushed at her opponent ready to end the fight with a swift punch to the face. Hinata gracefully deflected the fist and countered with a palm strike to the sternum. Ino collapsed to the ground gasping for breath.

"Match decided, winner Hinata," Iruka declared.

"Wooohooo! I knew you could do it Hinata," Naruto shouted enthusiastically, much to the shy girl's embarrassment.

"Are you alright Ino?" Hinata crouched to help the blonde girl get up, "I'm sorry that I went a little overboard."

"I'm ok," Ino assured her as the two girls gripped two fingers together in the shinobi sign for truce. For a moment, Ino gave a competitive grin as she boasted, "You better watch out, I'll beat you next time for sure."

"Next up, Naruto Uzumaki versus Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka called out as Ino and Hinata walked out of the ring.

"Alright, this is going to be awesome, dattebayo!" Naruto declared as he stepped into the ring.

"Let's see what you got," Sasuke challenged as he positioned himself across from Naruto.

"Go Sasuke!" Ino, Sakura, and several other girls cheered in unison.

"Match start," Iruka announced when the two contestants were ready.

Naruto made the first move, throwing a punch towards the stomach. Sasuke dodged and countered with a kick to the chest. Naruto blocked the kick, but was pushed back in the process. Sasuke followed up with two rapid jabs to the stomach, bypassing Naruto's guard. Naruto took the first hit full force, but managed to grab Sasuke's wrist before the second landed. He twisted Sasuke's arm in an attempt to force him to submit. Sasuke moved with the twist, displaying surprising flexibility as he twirled in close and rammed his elbow into Naruto's side. Sasuke used the momentum to flip Naruto over his head. Naruto quickly reoriented himself in the air to land on his feet, but still ended up slightly unbalanced as he touched down. Sasuke took advantage of this to kick Naruto in his exposed back, knocking him out of the ring.

"Match decided, winner Sasuke," Iruka declared.

"Sasuke's so cool!" most of the girls cheered.

"Heh, win this one," Naruto admitted, "But I'll beat you next time, dattebayo!"

"We'll see about that," Sasuke replied smugly.

The two formed the shinobi sign of truce before leaving the ring so the next match could start.

"I think you did really well Naruto," Hinata complimented shyly as Naruto returned to her side.

"Thanks, Hinata," Naruto smiled gratefully to her, "I just have to keep training a bit harder and I'll surpass him on day."

"Shikamai Nara vs Sakura Haruno," Iruka called out.

"Hey, wait a minute Iruka-sensei," Naruto called out, somewhat confused, "I thought today we were only going to have boys vs boys and girls vs girls. Why is Shikamaru fighting Sakura?"

"Because, Naruto, I'm a girl," Shikamai stated in a bored tone.

"WHAT!?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise, "But… but… Shikamaru is a boy's name."

"My name isn't Shikamaru, it's Shikamai," Shikamai explained.

"I've been calling you that for two years! Why did you never correct me?" Naruto shouted in indignation.

"It was too troublesome," Shikamai muttered.

"Haha, jeeze Naruto, how much of an idiot do you have to be to mess up your friend's gender for two years," Kiba joked.

"Alright settle down," Iruka intervened, "We still have a few more matches to get through. Shikamai, Sakura, are you both ready?"

"Yes Iruka-sensei," Both girls confirmed.

"Begin," Iruka signaled.

Sakura rushed forward with a few weak punches. Shikamai blocked each attack while slowly backpedaling. Sakura noticed the other girl was close to the edge of the ring. Expecting Shikamai to block again, she put her whole body into a punch that would push Shikamai out of the ring. Shikamai unexpectedly dodged to the side, allowing Sakura to stumble past her. She stuck her foot out to trip Sakura just for good measure, causing Sakura to fall flat on her face outside of the ring.

"Match end, winner Shikamai," Iruka announced.

Shikamai helped Sakura up and formed the sign of truce before returning to the group to lazily lean against the fence. Sakura was red in the face from being embossed in front of her crush, Sasuke, but quietly returned to Ino's side without complaining.

"We'll have one more match before lunch, Kiba Inuzuka vs Shino Aburame," Iruka announced.

"Hey why are you pairing me with Shino?" Kiba asked confused, "He's a boy and you said there wouldn't be any girl vs boy matches."

"Um, Kiba, you're a boy," Sakura pointed out.

"What! No I'm not, I'm a girl," Kiba declared with an offended expression.

"Nice try Kiba, but none of us are falling for that," Ino scoffed.

"I'm being serious, here let me prove it to you," Kiba proclaimed before turning and calling out to the group of older students across the yard, "HEY HANA! Can you come over here for a minute!"

"What's up pup?" Hana greeted as she jogged over, her three ninken following behind her.

"Everyone here keeps claiming I'm a boy, tell them that I'm not," Kiba pleaded as her face turned red in embarrassment.

"Really?" Hana asked as a smirk formed on her face.

"Well… He- err, I mean she, never mentioned anything before now," Iruka was caught off guard by the situation.

Hana's face broke into a grin as she tried to contain her laughter. She would use this to tease her little sibling for years.

"This, Iruka-sensei," Hana placed her hand on Kiba's head, "Is my little sister."

"WHAT!" almost everyone in the class burst out.

Hana couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"I told you, you should be less of a tomboy and hangout with some girls your own age," Hana smirked as she ruffled Kiba's hair affectionately.

"Grrr," Kiba growled in response, "The other girls only do dumb stuff, like fawn over Sasuke."

"GAAH! All of my friends are turning into girls," Naruto pulled at his hair in shock, "Choji! Are you a girl too?"

"No, I'm a boy," Choji assured Naruto.

"Sasuke, are you a girl?" Naruto questioned.

"Don't be an idiot," Sasuke's eyes shifted nervously. Several girls sighed in relief.

"Naruto, the odds of a third person in this class being mistaken for a different gender are very low," Shino stated.

"Um, I-I knew Kiba was a girl," Hinata quietly spoke up.

"Huh? How? Why didn't you say so before Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"I-I could tell w-with my byakugan," Hinata admitted, her face turning red at the implications of what exactly she could see, "I-I assumed everyone else knew, e-even without a b-bloodline. She does use the g-girls' restroom."

"This is all so troublesome," Shikamai sympathized with Kiba.

"Everyone settle down," Iruka commanded as he shook off his surprise, "Seeing as everyone has been distracted, we'll have our lunch break now. The matches were planned ahead of time, so Kiba and Shino will still spar when we get back. Dismissed."

* * *

Around this time, across the village, the Third Hokage was in his office contemplating one of the greatest challenges he's ever faced in his long life. The stack of paperwork on his desk was growing each time he looked away and he couldn't figure out how. He kept his eyes locked on the despicable pile in hopes of catching the phenomenon in the act.

"Hey, Sensei," Jiraiya greeted has he climbed in through the window, distracting Hiruzen for just a moment.

"Damit Jiraiya, you broke my concentration," Hiruzen grumbled as he examined the shady stack, which seemed to have 10 additional pages. Not enough for definite proof, but enough to give the feeling that something was off.

"Huh? Well anyway I have some information to report," Jiraiya shrugged off his teacher's mutterings.

"Procede," Hiruzen sighed as he signaled the anbu to prevent anyone from interrupting.

"Well the Land of Water is currently in turmoil," Jiraiya explained, "For the past few years, the Mizukage has ruled with a bloody fist and has increased the severity of Kiri's ninja training programs. Now there are rumors that the Mizukage intends to massacre all kekkei genkai wielders in the Land of Water. Kekkei genkai have been discriminated against since the time when the Third Mizukage was in power, but this is straight up genocide."

"This news is very unfortunate," Hiruzen stated sadly, "I wish we could prevent such a tragedy from occurring, but the council would never vote to aid an enemy nation at the risk of starting another war."

"Yeah," Jiraiya agreed before continuing, "Another thing that has me concerned is the Land of Rain. Hanzo the Salamander has tightened the security of Ame to the point where it is impossible to get a source inside the village. I'm worried that he may be preparing for something."

"Hanzo is man who regards the safety of his people above all else," Hiruzen calmly considered the information, "He won't do anything that puts Ame at risk."

"I don't know," Jiraiya countered, "Many people in the Land of Rain still hold a grudge against Konoha and Iwa for what happened in the Third Great Shinobi War. Hanzo might follow their demands and prepare some form of retaliation."

"It's pointless to speculate now," Hiruzen decided, "We need more information before we can take any action. Being rash could spark conflict when there would be none otherwise."

"There have also been rumors of a group of high rank missing nin working together under the name Akatsuki," Jiraiya continued.

"It's not unusual for missing nin to work in groups to defend against hunter nin," Hiruzen commented.

"Only chunin level missing nin do that," Jiraiya elaborated, "These Akatsuki are rumored to be A-rank or above."

"That is concerning," Hiruzen agreed seriously, "I wonder what could have brought such a group together and got them to actually work with each other."

"They don't appear to have a set goal as far as I can tell," Jiraiya stated, "Perhaps they found it more convenient to carry out high paying missions. I'll keep an eye on them for now and report when any new information is revealed."

"Good," Hiruzen approved, "Is that everything?"

"The important stuff," Jiraiya confirmed, "You can read all the details in my written report. In the meantime, I have a godson to go visit."

"Of course," Hiruzen dismissed Jiraiya. As he turned back to his paperwork, he realized the accursed stack had nearly doubled in size over the course of the conversation, "Damned paperwork."

* * *

As the Academy got out that day, Naruto started to walk home only to run into Jiraiya holding two popsicles.

"Pervy Sage! You're back, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Shhh," Jiraiya shushed as he handed Naruto one of the popsicles, "Don't call me that, brat. You'll ruin my reputation with the ladies."

"You ruined your own reputation before I was born," Naruto joked as he bit into his popsicle.

Jiraiya just laughed at this, "Haha, yeah, you're probably right about that one."

Jiraiya continued to visit Naruto every few months. Usually stopping by no more than a week at a time. During those times the two spent as much time together as possible. Jiraiya made sure to pass on as many life lessons to Naruto as he could, most of which involved women. Because of this, Naruto began to think of Jiraiya as the closest thing he had to a father figure. Kakashi came close at first, but he mostly just helped out with his academy work, becoming more of a big brother.

During Jiraiya's last visit, he had taken it upon himself to corrupt- err, enlighten Naruto on the virtues of women. This was accomplished via a visit to the hot springs. He was, perhaps, five years too early for Naruto to fully comprehend and appreciate the lesson.

"Where's Kakashi?" Jiraiya wondered, "Is he late again?"

"Nah, Kakashi's out on a mission," Naruto explained.

"So, how have you been since I last saw you?" Jiraiya asked as they began walking down the street.

"Eh, it's been alright," Naruto shrugged, "They finally started letting us practice taijutsu in actual spars, so that's awesome."

"Oh, have you won any matches?" Jiraiya inquired.

"Yup, I can beat all of the civilian students and most of the clan children," Naruto boasted, before scrunching up his face in disappointment, "I still lose to Sasuke though… and Kiba, though my match with her was really close."

"Well, you'll never get better without challenges to overcome," Jiraiya stated with a slightly exaggerated pose of a wise man, "So, I assume you've been learning the basic academy style."

"Yeah, big bro Kakashi has been helping me get the stances correct," Naruto explained.

"Ah… what if I told you I could teach you a different taijutsu style," Jiraiya grinned coyly, "One that no other student in your class knows about."

"Would you really?" Naruto eyes grew in excitement, "That would be awesome, dattebayo!"

"Let's go to a training ground and I'll teach you the basics," Jiraiya said before leading the way.

They eventually found an unassigned training ground away from anyone who might be watching.

"Ok Naruto," Jiraiya began explaining, "I'm going to be teaching you the Toad style taijutsu. Now I first want you to think about how a toad moves."

"Uh, they jump," Naruto replied.

"Correct," Jiraiya confirmed, "Toads have two options in a fight: they sit and wait, or they leap through the air. Toads quickly bound across the battlefield to either get in close to attack or to dodge incoming attacks. However, when they are sitting still they have a strong defense and are difficult to move. Toad style taijutsu is based off of these principals."

"Oh, so is the starting stance like this?" Naruto asked seriously as he crouched down with his knees spread and his hands touching the ground, mimicking the look of a toad.

"Nope," Jiraiya rapped him on the head, "I said 'based off of', not literally acting like a toad. Now let's begin with the initial stance, copy my pose."

Jiraiya took on a fighting stance with his left arm in front and his right arm pulled back slightly.

Naruto mimicked the stance, while Jiraiya gave him pointers, "Keep your left palm open, it makes it easier to deflect or catch an incoming punch. Don't cock your right fist back so much, it's too obvious to your opponent and you may need to be able to change stances in a moment's notice. Bend your knees slightly, so you can move without hesitation. I said slightly, that's too much."

* * *

Jiraiya continued teaching Naruto the basic stances well into the afternoon. When the sun started setting he called for Naruto to stop.

"Alright brat, I think that'll do it for today," Jiraiya announced.

"Aw, can't we keep going for just a bit longer?" Naruto complained.

"If we continue for any longer it'll be night," Jiraiya laughed.

"Ok," Naruto admitted defeat.

"Oh, here, you should have this," Jiraiya said as he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Naruto, "It tells you how to do all the basic stances for toad style. I have some business to attend to tomorrow night, so I might not get the chance to train you again this visit. But I want you to have that scroll memorized from beginning to end by time I stop by again."

"Alright," Naruto confirmed, "I'll know this scroll like the back of my hand, don't you worry, dattebayo!"

"Good," Jiraiya approved, "Now why don't we go get some ramen."

"Ramen!" Naruto shouted with joy.

A while later, after 5 bowls of ramen, Naruto was headed home when he ran into a familiar face by his apartment.

"Hello ma'am," Naruto greeted the red eyed girl politely.

"Oh, hello," Kurenai was startled, "Hey aren't you that blonde kid that hangs out with Anko occasionally?"

"Yup," Naruto confirmed, "You're Kurenai right? Man, I don't think I've spoken to you since Anko introduced us two years ago."

"We haven't," Kurenai agreed, "So did you make any friends since we last met?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied, "I actually became friends with a really nice girl named Hinata on that same day. She's usually really quiet, and doesn't say a lot, but she helps out with my homework whenever big brother Kakashi isn't around. And of course, I run into Anko every now and then, so we catch up occasionally. I even ran into her and Hana earlier today."

"Of course, they told me about that," Kurenai confirmed, "That's why you're wearing Hana's shirt, isn't it?"

"Yup," Naruto scratched behind his head nervously as he remembered the incident, "So what cha doing here?"

"Well, I'm here with Yugao," Kurenai explained, "I'm helping her pick out a new apartment. Speaking of whom."

As Kurenai spoke Yugao walked out of one of the unused apartments with a real estate agent in tow. The civilian bid her farewell before walking off while looking through some papers.

"Oh, there you are Kurenai," Yugao spotted the duo, "Did you get tired of listening to that guy talk? Oh, hello, Naruto was it?"

"Yeah, hi," Naruto greeted the violet haired girl, "So are you looking to move in here?"

"Hmm, maybe," Yugao speculated, "I'm taking the graduation exams soon, so I was thinking of getting my own place when I become a genin. Do you live around here?"

"Yup, my place is on the corner of the top floor," Naruto pointed, "If you're going pick an apartment here, you have a lot to choose from. Most people moved out a couple years ago for some reason, so there's plenty of space."

"That's good," Kurenai commented, "Anko and I were considering moving in with her as roommates when we become genin a year from now."

At this moment Naruto felt a cold feeling slither up his spine. As he instinctively looked around he spotted a man walking towards them. The man had long black hair contrasting pale white skin, with purple markings surrounding yellow slit eyes. He wore a tan kimono with a purple rope tied around his waist. With each step the man took, Naruto felt as if he was being trapped in ice.

"Yugao, Kurenai," the man's casual nature did nothing to diminish his presence, "Have you seen Anko around?"

"Hello, Lord Orochimaru," Yugao responded respectfully, "She was with us earlier, but left to get in some extra training I believe."

"Oh, of course. Thank you for letting me know. Have a good night," Orochimaru walked away without even acknowledging Naruto.

' _That's Anko's dad,'_ Naruto thought as he began to tremble in the spot, _'She always talked about him so casually, like how I talk about Pervy Sage. Is that how powerful a Sannin is? I just brushed off Jiraiya's stories as exaggerated boasting, but now… I'm not so sure. I don't ever want to face someone like him in battle. No, I'll be strong like that one day. I'll surpass Pervy Sage and that weirdo. I'm going to be the Hokage. I'll never give up, that's my nindo, my ninja way.'_

"It gets easier the more time you spend around him," Kurenai assured Naruto while soothingly rubbing his back. She attempted to hide the fact that she wasn't completely unfazed herself.

"O-ok," Naruto stammered before turning to the stairs leading to his apartment. Despite reaffirming his mental resolve, his body still shook uncontrollably, "I-I'm going to turn in for the night now."

"Good night," Yugao bid farewell, slightly concerned about Naruto's health.

Naruto just waved back as he reached his door. When he got inside, the tension was released, and he immediately collapsed onto his bed. He lost conscious before his head even hit the pillow.

* * *

 _Naruto found himself in complete darkness. All around him he could hear faint hissing. He jumped as something slithered past his leg. Naruto started running, his heart beating at a frantic pace. He could hear things moving behind him, chasing him. Suddenly a giant snake head loomed out of the darkness in front of him, mouth wide open. He was unable to stop in time and was swallowed up._

 _As the snake's jaws closed, Naruto suddenly found himself on a dimly lit plain that was covered in a shallow layer of water. Eight indistinct forms loomed in front of him. Each one several times taller than the tallest building in Konoha. For a moment, Naruto thought he spotted a humanoid shape in front of each of the monstrous shadows._

 _Naruto whirled around as a large clang sounded behind him. The plain disappeared and was replaced with a large room, though the water remained. Right in front of Naruto, was a massive cage door, spanning the room from wall to wall. Behind the cage, Naruto could make out the form of a massive fox straining against the bars, its nine tails swaying behind it aggressively. Naruto scrambled back, fearing the image of the thing that haunted every villager's dreams since the day of his birth._

" **Can you sense it, human?"** _the beast spoke in an excited tone,_ **"So much hatred, so much blood. It's** _ **his**_ **clan that is dying tonight. It brings me so much pleasure. Why don't you open this cage. I want to join in the fun.**

" _G-go away," Naruto cried out in fear as the beast began banging its hands against the door repeatedly._

 _A blood red light washed over the room. Naruto looked up to see a full crimson moon. A black dot surrounded by three tomoes appeared on the moon, giving it the appearance of an eye._

" _Don't be scared my son," a soft voice called out as two comforting arms embraced Naruto behind, "I'll always be here to protect you. You can sleep peacefully."_

 _Naruto relaxed into the warm, motherly embrace. Just as his eyes began to close the arms grew red fur and claws, before the fox's voice spoke behind him,_ **"Go to sleep human. I'll take care of all your problems."**

Naruto woke suddenly from his dream. Sweat poured down his face as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heart. He curled up in bed, unable to fall asleep again. Waiting for the night to pass.

* * *

Naruto managed to doze off a little before morning came. As he went about his morning routine he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his gut. Not to mention his gut felt like someone was punching it through out the night. This uneasy feeling grew as he arrived at the Academy and heard everyone was whispering about something huge happening at the Uchiha complex last night. It was further cemented when Sasuke never showed up for class.

Naruto barley spoke to anyone throughout the day, avoiding any interaction with his friends. When Hinata tried to ask him what was wrong, he just shrugged it off and told her he was fine. She didn't believe him, but she didn't pressure him any further.

It was at the end of the day when that gut feeling was confirmed to be true. The teachers announced to the students that the Uchiha clan was wiped out in a single night. Sasuke was the only survivor, but he was in the hospital with trauma. There wouldn't be classes for the next week as the village mourned for the deceased clan.

As soon as the Academy got out Naruto hightailed it to the hospital, intent on seeing his rival. As he entered the building he was intercepted by Kurenai.

"Naruto," Kurenai called out, stopping him in his tracks.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, anxious to see his classmate.

"It's Anko, she was hurt last night," Kurenai said solemnly, "We thought you should know."

"Where is she?" Naruto forgot about Sasuke as he started to worry about one of his first friends.

"I'll take you to her room," Kurenai beckoned him to follow her.

When they reached the room, they found Yugao and Hana already standing by her bed. Hana's three ninken were sitting in the corner whining helplessly. Anko lay on the bed, her skin pale and her breathing labored. On her neck, a pitch black three tomoe pattern seemed to give off a sickening aura. Naruto was unable to speak as he looked down on his vulnerable friend.

"She was found like this this morning," Yugao explained quietly, "The medic nin tried everything they could, but they can't seem to help her. Whether she lives or dies depends on her."

Tears began to fall from his eyes as he heard this. Never before had Naruto ever felt so helpless. For the first time in two years, Naruto was afraid of losing someone precious to him.

"There you are Naruto," a voice said from the doorway. Naruto turned to see Jiraiya walking in with a concerned look on his face, "I wanted to see if you were ok."

"Pervy Sage…" Naruto hiccupped, "Do you know what happened to her? Why she is like this?"

Jiraiya took a moment before answering, "Early this morning, Orochimaru left the village. He stole several things from the Uchiha complex. In particular, their eyes."

"The sharingan," Hana muttered in realization.

"We believe he stopped by his house to get some other things before leaving," Jiraiya continued, "That's when he left that mark on Anko and put her in that state."

"Why would he do that? She's his daughter," Naruto asked.

"I don't know," Jiraiya admitted, "Raising her was the only time I had ever seen him truly happy. I don't understand why he would betray her like this."

The room was silent for a few minutes as everyone contemplated quietly. Jiraiya broke the silence as he turned back to the door, "I have to go now Naruto. I'm the only one who can track that bastard down and hope to stand a chance in a fight against him."

"Jiraiya," Naruto called out as his tears were renewed, "Please come back safe."

"I'll do my best," Jiraiya replied before walking away.

Naruto sat down in a chair next to Anko, intent on staying there until she woke up. He would be there for any of his precious people, no matter what they had to go through.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I'm sorry for the inconvenience I've caused anyone having to reread this chapter. I really want to make this fic the best it can possible be. The original chapter was too short and didn't really contain any meaningful content. Thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited this fic.**

 **This chapter mostly highlights the differences between Naruto in this story and in canon. Here, Naruto will be a little more level headed and have a better understanding of the basics. He still goofs off occasionally, but at least he knows when to pay attention. He still wants to become Hokage, but he's not shouting it in everyone's face constantly.**

 **As you'll have noticed, this fic contains some gender bent characters. I've read some Shikamaru x fem Naruto fics and general enjoyed them, so I wanted to do my own twist on it. I was inspired to do a Fem Kiba by a story called** _ **Finding an Alpha**_ **by Yojimbra. There is one other gender bent character (besides Haku). Can you guess who? It'll be awhile before their revealed, but I'll explain why they were hidden when that happens.**

 **Next up, Mizuki, with a twist! Please keep on reviewing, I enjoy reading what you have to say, even though I sometimes forget to reply to the PMs.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well that's the last time I make a promise on when the next chapter is out. Sorry for the long wait, but here is chapter 4.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **5 Years Later.**

 **Naruto age 12.**

Naruto was roused from his sleep by the tantalizing smell of a cooked breakfast. Like a zombie rising from the dead, Naruto flopped out of bed and began shuffling towards undoubtedly delicious source. Still in his pajamas, and his sleeping cap only half way on his head, he made his way out the door of his apartment and proceeded to the next door over. Like clockwork the door opened a few seconds after he knocked on it with his head. Kurenai stood in the doorway, wearing a robe over her nightwear.

"Good morning Naruto," Kurenai greeted as she let him in.

"Morning Kurenai," Naruto mumbled sleepily as he made his way to the kitchen.

"You're a bit earlier today so you can help with the eggs," Kurenai ordered as she went back to preparing the morning meal for her roommates and their usual guest.

"Kay," Naruto yawned. Naruto didn't come over every day, usually only once or twice a week, but when he did she always made sure he earned his food. At least it taught him how to cook more things than just ramen.

The two of them went about their tasks with a familiar rhythm. Kurenai occasionally looked over and checked on him to make sure he was doing it correctly. It wasn't long before Yugao came in, already dressed in her anbu gear, which consisted of black sandals, black pants, a sleeveless black shirt, dull grey chest armor, and armored gloves. Her cat patterned mask was pushed up on her head. She greeted Naruto and Kurenai with a nod before proceeding to efficiently distribute the food into separate dishes and lay them out on the table.

"Anko breakfast is ready," Kurenai called out.

The purple haired girl walked in just as everyone else sat down at the table. Naruto took a bite of his food before looking up to see Anko was only wearing a loose shirt. His eyes uncontrollably traveled down to gaze at her smooth toned legs. At that same moment Anko stretched her whole body, accidently lifting the hem of her shirt and revealing that it really was the only piece of clothing on her body. Also confirming that her hair color was all natural. Naruto briefly choked on his food as he tried to look away before getting caught. He was a second too late as Kurenai noticed what happened.

"Anko!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"Yeah, Kurenai," Anko replied nonchalantly.

"Put some pants on," Kurenai commanded, "We have a guest."

"It's only Naruto," Anko waved off, "I don't mind if he doesn't. Right Naruto?"

"Well, um… I… ah…" Naurto spluttered, his face turning red as he tried to come up with a response that wouldn't get him in trouble.

"See, he doesn't mind," Anko answered for him with a smirk.

"Just sit down already," Kurenai sighed, unwilling to put up with her antics this early in the morning.

"So, what are everyone's plans for the day," Yugao spoke up as Anko took her seat.

"I have a test at the Academy today," Naruto announced, glad to change the subject, "Maybe Sasuke will slip up and I can finally take the title of Rookie of the year. We've been tied for the past few months now."

"Anko, Hana, and I were going to get in some training for the upcoming Chunin Exams," Kurenai explained after she finished chewing.

"I swear that asshole of a sensei made us wait a few extra years because we're all girls," Anko said while her mouth was full of food.

"Well, I'm training with Hayate-sensei in my kenjutsu again today," Yugao revealed.

"Have you told Hayate about you're crush on him yet?" Anko teased.

"Shut up," Yugao's face turned red, "It wouldn't work out anyway, there's too much of an age difference between us."

"Don't worry, there are still plenty of boy's our own age you can date," Kurenai encouraged.

"This is coming form the girl who has a crush on the Third Hokage's son," Yugao replied.

"I told you never to mention that," now it was Kurenai's turn to be embarrassed.

"Can we move onto another subject?" Naruto interrupted. He was becoming uncomfortable with all the girl talk.

"But why? Do you have a secret crush you're trying to keep from us?" Anko joked.

"Err… well… um, maybe," Naruto stuttered out.

"Ooh, now you definitely have to tell us," Yugao ordered mischievously.

"Spit it out, or I'll make you do the dishes," Kurenai mock threatened.

"Well… there's this girl in my class named Sakura," Naruto hesitantly admitted, "I think she's kind of pretty."

For a moment Naruto thought he saw a brief flash of disappointment cross Anko's face.

"Have you approached her about your feelings yet?" Yugao inquired.

"No, every time I've tried I start worrying that she'll reject me," Naruto confessed, "She's always only been interested in Sasuke, I don't think she'll want to go out with his rival."

"It sounds like you're overthinking this too much," Kurenai commented.

"Yeah, just go out there and get it over with," Anko encouraged, "If she rejects you, just move on to someone else."

"Alright, I'll do it the first time I see her today," Naruto proclaimed, before turning to Anko with a mischievous grin, "Hey Anko, seeing as I told everyone who my crush was, why don't you tell us yours."

"I'd rather not," Anko replied, "It's not like any boy would have any interest in me since… well, because of that bastard."

As Anko said this she unconsciously started to rub the mark on her neck. Naruto was briefly reminded of how the villagers would avoid and spite her in much the same way they did him. It made him wonder if his own parents were missing nin, and if all family members of traitors were treated the same.

Shaking off the brief moment of gloom, Naruto proclaimed, "Well, tell me who he is and I'll beat some sense into him. When I'm through, he'll be a perfect gentleman who won't judge you based on what that bastard did."

Anko smiled at this before responding, "Well he's not always a gentleman, but I already know he doesn't judge me like the rest of the village."

"Then what are you worried about, just say his name already," Naruto pouted.

"Alright, but only if you bribe me first," Anko smirked devilishly before giving a hint, "I could really go for a massage."

"Uh, what kind of massage are you looking for?" Naruto inquired.

"Well my breasts have gained so much weight recently," Anko cupped her growing rack through her loose shirt, "I could really use someone to rub them for a little bit."

"Gah! Gurk," Naruto choked on his food for a second time as his nose started to bleed.

"Aww, Naruto seems too shy to do it," Anko pouted cutely, "Kurenai, would you be willing to help me out?"

"Wahh…? Me? Now!?" Kurenai blushed in surprise.

Naruto's chair was knocked backwards as his nose started gushing at a dangerous rate. Anko burst out laughing, dropping the act as she held onto her stomach, accidently pressing her shirt down and giving her breasts more definition through the cloth. Naruto noticed that her laughter made her chest jiggle and was further propelled across the floor. Yugao couldn't help but giggle slightly before getting up to help the poor boy recover. Kurenai was less amused by the joke and proceeded to quickly finish her meal, using all her will power to avoid losing her temper at Anko and Naruto for being perverts. As Yugao helped Naruto back into his chair, he started scarfing down the rest of his food quickly before another incident could happen that would cause him to choke again.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the wealthier side of the village another academy student was having a very different kind of morning. Hinata Hyuuga was fully awake and alert as she gracefully settled into the gentle fist fighting stance. She felt the gazes of many of the clan's more prominent figures in the main branch watching her from the edges of the training dojo. Among those gazes was her father's, Hiashi Hyuuga, the head of the entire clan. She glanced at him for a moment seeing only a steely cold expression scrutinizing without giving away his thoughts. As her focus returned to her opponent a pit formed in her stomach. Standing in front of her with a face mirroring her father's, was Hinata's own little sister, Hanabi. Despite being five years younger, Hanabi was determined to win this fight.

Hinata didn't have further time to ponder as Hiashi signaled for the match to begin. Hanabi rushed forward, veins bulging around her eyes as she activated her byakugan. Hinata's byakugan also activated as she stepped back into a more defensive stance. Hinata deflected a strike to her shoulder and a second one aimed at her hip, but as she was about to deflect a third strike, Hanabi took advantage of an opening in her guard and delivered a kick to her stomach. As Hinata stumbled back, Hanabi ruthlessly followed through with several strikes to the chakra points in Hinata's chest and arms, effectively disabling her for the remainder of the fight. Lacking the will to fight back and counter attack, Hinata crumpled to the ground while Hiashi called an end to the match.

"Hinata," Hiashi looked down on his daughter, "This fight was disappointing, I expected more of you."

Her father's words hurt Hinata more than her sister's gentle fist strikes. Hinata knew she was a failure in the eyes of the clan, but this was the first time her father actually said it out loud. As he walked away one of the branch members helped Hinata back up and reopened her chakra points before taking her to the dinning hall to eat breakfast. While Hiashi didn't look back and his face remained stoic, internally he was consumed with feelings of fear. He was afraid of what might happen to Hinata when she finally became a ninja and was forced to face the cruel world outside of Konoha. The feeling help cement his decisions yesterday at the council meeting as the correct ones. Anything to delay his precious daughter from walking into a dangerous life. In the meantime, he had to be as strict as possible, so she could grow into a strong heiress of the Hyuuga clan.

Hinata remained silent throughout the rest of her morning activities and on her way to the Academy. As she reached her classroom her self-confidence continued to deteriorate. All around her students were happily chatting with their friends as the whole classroom gave off an excited vibe due to this being the last semester before graduation where they would become genin. Hinata, having just been beaten by an eight-year-old, was doubting any chance she had of ever becoming a ninja. Before she could sink further in self doubt a cheerful voice called out to her.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto shouted a greeting to her from across the room before beckoning her over.

Her best friend's infectious upbeat attitude lifted the weight in Hinata's chest for a moment as she took a seat next to him. The depression quickly came back however as she was reminded that despite being friends for so long, she was unable to admit her feelings to the blond. Thus adding to the growing list of reasons why she was a failure. Before her thoughts could continue, Iruka-sensei called for the class to settle down.

"Good morning," Iruka-sensei greeted the class, before composing himself for what he was about to announce, "Before we begin I have something to inform you of that some of you may not like. The council, with the approval of the Hokage, has decided to rework the Academic system for upcoming shinobi. One of the most prominent changes is the addition of an age limit for becoming a ninja. As of this morning, the minimum age to graduate is 16."

Iruka waited a moment to let the information sink in.

"WHAAAT?" several students shouted out, the loudest of whom were Naruto and Kiba.

"This means that none of you will become genin this year and will have to spend another 4 years at the Academy in order to graduate," Iruka explained.

"That's stupid," Naruto exclaimed, "I don't want to wait another four years to become a ninja."

Several students agreed with him. Ino even pointed out, "What about the students who graduated last year and became genin? They're not 16 yet."

"Anyone who is already a ninja will remain so," Iruka confirmed, "This law only affects those who haven't earned their headband yet."

"But it's only a few months until the genin exams," Sasuke muttered stoically, "Can't this wait to go in effect until after we graduate."

"The decision has already been made," Iruka replied, "If you have an issue you'll have to bring it up with the Hokage."

As the class continued to loudly complain, Hinata sunk further into her depressing thoughts. _Father is on the council,_ Hinata thought to herself, _He probably voted for this change because of me. He thinks I'm so weak, he's delaying the time I can become a ninja. He's right I'm too weak. It's my fault, I'm holding Naruto back from his dream of becoming Hokage._

Meanwhile, Iruka's assistant instructor, Mizuki, was deep within his own thoughts. _Damn it, why would the council do this,_ Mizuki clenched his fists, _I'll be stuck with these brats for another four years if I don't do something._ For a moment he thought about the scheme he recently envisioned to pull off during the graduation exam. _Why wait till graduation? if they're still going to be in the academy next year, why not do now? I can leave this stupid village all the sooner. I'll need to tweak a few things, but I should be able to pull it off._

 _Now, I just need to find someone to do the dirty work for me,_ Mizuki began looking around the class for a target, _It would be excellent if I could get the demon brat to steal the scroll for me. Then I could kill him and become a hero in the eyes of the civilians. The problem is he's just too damn unpredictable. Most of the time he acts like an idiot and a prankster, but with Copy-Cat Kakashi and Jiraiya of the Sannin helping him with his training he's a fairly competent shinobi. There's no guarantee he'll fall for it._

 _Kiba is dumb enough to be tricked,_ Mizuki considered, _But she'll fight back as soon as she realizes what it going on. I'd rather not face a pissed off Inuzuka woman, even if she is lower ranked than me. Shikamai? Too lazy. Shino? Too smart. Sasuke might fall for it with the promise of a powerful jutsu, but if I had to fight him I might actually lose._

As he continued to scan the room, Mizuki's eyes fell on the only student not complaining to Iruka. _Hinata Hyuuga,_ Mizuki's eyes lit up in victory, _Perfect. She's too shy to talk to anyone and her self esteem is so low it'll be a piece of cake to manipulate her. When she finds out the truth she'll just break down as she realizes she failed again. It'll even tarnish the reputation of those pricks in the Hyuuga clan._ With a target in mind Mizuki started envisioning how the rest of the day would play out.

* * *

As soon as the Academy was let out, Naruto made a beeline straight for the Hokage's office. Naruto followed in the habit of his godfather and entered through the window.

"Hey Old Man!" Naruto announced his presence a bit louder than necessary, "What's with this law that's preventing me from becoming a ninja until I'm 16?"

Hiruzen sighed as he set aside the paperwork he was filing out, he knew this conversation was coming all day and mentally prepared himself for it. He suppressed a twinge of regret as he looked at Naruto's angry demeanor.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it had to be done," Hiruzen stated, "It should have been done a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Naruto, every year I see kids fresh out of the academy get killed on their first mission outside of the village," Hiruzen explained with a solemn expression on his face, "During the Third Great Shinobi War I had to send children younger than you out to the battlefield to be slaughtered. I'm tired of it. When the civilian council proposed this idea, I couldn't turn it down. Even if it inconveniences you Naruto, it'll give your peers a chance to train better and live a bit longer."

"I guess I can see your point," Naruto conceded, "But I'm still not happy about it. What will I even do for the next 4 years?"

"Well this can be an opportunity to learn how to wield a weapon, like a sword or a staff," Hiruzen suggested, "Or you could even study fuinjutsu."

"Hmm, well Pervy Sage did mention teaching me about sealing the next time he visited," Naruto admitted.

"And starting next year you and your classmates will be split up into teams of three to carry out various D-rank missions around the village," Hiruzen added.

"Really?" Naruto started to brighten up.

"Yup, you'll even get paid for them," Hiruzen chose not to mention what D-ranked missions actually involved.

"Awesome, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"Now run along, I still have a lot of work to get done today," Hiruzen requested.

"Alright, see ya Old Man," Naruto departed through the window he previously entered with, now in a much better mood.

* * *

A few minutes earlier, back at the Academy, Hinata was juts about to leave when Mizuki stopped her.

"Hinata, come with me," Mizuki ordered, "I have something I need to discuss with you."

"Ok," Hinata quietly followed Mizuki over to a tree with swing away from everyone else. As they approached the tree, a pit formed in Hinata's stomach. Was she in trouble? Were her grades failing? As she tried to figure out what she did wrong, Mizuki came to a halt and turned to face her.

"Hinata, you're not in trouble," Mizuki assured her as he guessed her thoughts, "I simply have an assignment for you."

"Oh," Hinata looked up as her bad thoughts dispelled, "Why would I get an assignment that wasn't given to the whole class?"

"This is a new addition to the curriculum," Mizuki explained, "Over the next few weeks we'll be giving this assignment to students individually. You are just the first chosen to be tested."

"Oh, ok," Hinata accepted the explanation.

"Your mission is to break into the Hokage tower and steal the Forbidden Scroll of Seals without being caught," Mizuki explained, "Once you have the scroll, deliver it to me at the specified rendezvous."

"Isn't it treason to steal the Scroll of Seals?" Hinata frowned in confusion.

"It won't be the real scroll," Mizuki assured her, "This assignment is meant to test your ability to steal important documents without getting caught. It also is a test of the village's security to discover any holes that could be patched up. You'll be proving your own capabilities and helping protect the village at the same time."

"Really?" Hinata's voice carried the faintest hint of hope before she looked down sadly and mumbled to herself, "I could at least try."

"Don't sell yourself short Hinata," Mizuki encouraged her, "You're an amazing kunoichi. Your stealth is top notch, and with your byakugan, you'll see anyone approaching you. You'll have no problem being in and out of there without anyone seeing you."

"Do you really think so?" Hinata asked, her confidence beginning to stir at the praise. Naruto was the only one who ever praised her like that.

"Absolutely," Mizuki stated confidently, "And when we publicly announce the scores I bet yours will be right at the top. Your father will be proud. I bet Naruto will be so impressed, he'll take you out for ramen."

Hearing about her blond friend caused Hinata's face to turn red before she timidly replied, "O-Ok, I'll do it."

"Good," Mizuki smirked, "Oh and one more thing. This assignment will also test how well you can keep a secret, so you can't tell anyone about your mission or ask for help. Do you understand?"

"Hai," Hinata nodded her head in confirmation.

"Now let me explain were the rendezvous is," Mizuki began to describe the location and time for her to bring the scroll.

* * *

"AHHAHAHAHA," Anko burst out laughing.

"It's not funny Anko," Naruto pouted as his purple haired neighbor clutched her stomach while rolling on the floor.

The two of them were sitting in a dango shop that Anko frequently visits. After training the rest of the afternoon away, Naruto met up with Anko to get some dinner when the sun started to set.

"Of course it's funny," Anko teased as she got back into her seat with a smirk, "You're stuck in the Academy for another 4 years. By time you graduate I'll be a jonin. I might even be your jonin sensei. What do you think of that! You'll have to call me Anko-sensei."

"You're not even a chunin," Naruto pointed out.

"After the next Chunin Exams come to Konoha I will be," Anko declared confidently.

"You'd make a terrible sensei," Naruto rebuked.

"You want to test that," Anko pulled out a kunai and twirled it in her fingers, "I think I can be quite good at teaching brats how to evade projectiles."

"Well you got me there," Naruto put up his hands in truce. He had no intentions of ever experiencing that lesson again.

Anko smirked in victory before returning her dango. Naruto relaxed a bit as he felt the danger pass. Before he could resume eating his dango, he noticed Hinata walking past the shop.

"Hey Hinata" Naruto called out to his friend.

"Oh, hello Naruto," Hinata was startled out of her thoughts as she turned to greet him.

"Why don't you join us for some dango," Naruto offered, "Anko's paying."

"What! No I'm not," Anko shouted in indignation, "You pay for your own food."

"No thanks, I'm sorry, but I have to do something right now," Hinata politely refused before hurrying away.

"Oh, I wanted to talk with her," Naruto sighed, "She seemed really down today, and I wanted to find out what was wrong."

"Well then go after her and ask," Anko advised as she was chewing on another stick of dango, "She's probably avoiding talking about whatever's bothering her."

"Yeah, I'll go do that," Naruto got up and started running in the direction that Hinata went, "Thanks for the dango, dattebayo."

"Wait! At least pay up before you run off," Anko yelled after him, but he was already gone.

Naruto lost track of Hinata before he was able to catch up with her. Despite this he continued searching around the village in hopes of finding her again. After an hour it was fully dark. Just as Naruto was about to give up and go home he finally spotted her. She appeared to be headed out of the village with a large scroll on her back. Curious about what she was doing, Naruto decided to discreetly follow her. Hinata continued through the forest outside of Konoha until she came to a clearing and stopped to rest, setting the large scroll down at her side. Deciding now was the best time to make his presence known, Naruto quickly caught up to her.

"Hey Hinata," Naruto called out as he came up to her.

Hinata jumped in surprise until she recognized who it was that startled her, "N-Naruto, w-what are you doing h-here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Naruto replied, "I saw you leave the village and wanted to know what you were up to. What's with that big scroll you've got there?"

"T-this?" Hinata became nervous, unsure how to answer him with out giving information on her mission, "I-I can't tell you. I-I have to keep it a s-secret."

"Huh, but why would you have to do that?" Naruto looked at her in confusion.

Before Hinata could come up with an answer they heard leaves rustling as Mizuki walked into the clearing. Oddly, he was in full ninja gear with two massive shuriken strapped to his back.

"Good job Hinata, you completed the mission," Mizuki applauded, "But what is Naruto doing here?"

"I'm sorry sensei," Hinata apologized, "Naruto saw me leaving the village and followed me. I've failed the test."

"Huh, what test?" Naruto asked, still confused by the situation.

"Oh, don't worry Naruto," Mizuki explained, "It's just a test that'll be given to every student individual over the next few weeks. You'll get your turn eventually. And Hinata, you'll get points taken off for being followed, but you won't fail."

"I'm sorry for messing up your test Hinata," Naruto apologized.

"It's okay," Hinata assured him, "It's my fault for not checking to see if I was being tailed."

Slightly downcast, Hinata walked up to Mizuki and passed him the scroll. As Hinata returned to Naruto's side Mizuki decided to ruin the pair's friendship before tying up loose ends.

"Naruto, Hinata, before you go I think there is something you should know," Mizuki got their attention, "I'm sure you've heard all about the Yondaime Hokage defeating the great Nine Tailed Fox that attacked our village over 12 years ago."

Naruto and Hinata nodded in response, unsure what this was leading up to.

"But what you don't know is how exactly it was defeated," Mizuki explained, "You see the Kyuubi isn't some normal oversized beast. In fact, it is made entirely out of chakra and therefore is unkillable through conventional means. Instead of killing it, the Yondaime had to seal it away. Unfortunately, he couldn't just seal it into an inanimate object, so he sealed it into a human baby."

Mizuki paused to let that information sink in before continuing, "Naruto, have you ever wondered why everyone in the village despises you. Why everyone pretends you don't exist when you walk down the street. It is because you are that child Naruto. That's right, you are the demon fox that killed countless civilians and shinobi in a single night. YOU ARE THE KYUUBI."

Mizuki grinned as both kids froze in shock. In Naruto's mind he remembered all of the glares the villagers gave him each day, the nightmares he had after the Uchiha massacre, and the time he lived on the street after being kicked out of the orphanage. It all made sense now. He didn't react as Mizuki pulled out one of the large shuriken on his back and threw it. Just as it was about to hit Naruto there was a loud clang as the shuriken changed course away from Naruto and hit a tree. Naruto stepped back as he registered Hinata was in front of him with her palm extended in the Gentle Fist stance. Her finger tips were glowing with chakra that she used to deflect the weapon.

Mizuki frowned, "Why did you do that?"

"I won't let you hurt Naruto," Hinata declared, "Even if what you said is true, and the Kyuubi really is sealed inside of him, he is not a demon. He is a kind, gentle, prank loving ramen addict, and my best friend. I'll always be by his side to protect him."

Hinata's words jolted something in Naruto, reminding him of all the good things in his life. He had Kakashi and Jiraiya who always looked out for him and helped with his training. The Old Man who acted like a grandfather and took him out to eat ramen. The Ichikrakus, Teuchi and Ayame, who always welcomed him into their stand, even if he didn't have enough to pay. All of them surely knew about the Kyuubi and never look at him like a demon. Even Iruka warmed up to Naruto over time. Anko, Kurenai, Yugao, and Hana would surely accept him if they found out.

"Ha, you will protect the demon," Mizuki taunted Hinata, "You're too weak to protect anything. You're a failure. You even fell for my trick to obtain the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. That's right, this here isn't a fake. I'm going to take it and use it to obtain power. And you just handed it right over to me. You not only failed yourself, you failed your whole village."

Mizuki's words clearly affected Hinata as her stance wavered.

"Shut up," Naruto shouted as he moved forward to stand beside Hinata, "Hinata is not a failure, "Hinata is not a failure. She completed the mission you gave her. Even if you tricked her, she still is a capable kunoichi, dattebayo. If you intend to take that scroll, then you're a traitor. We'll kick your ass and drag you back to Konoha together. Right Hinata?"

"Right Naruto," Hinata regained her determination.

Mizuki gritted his teeth in frustration before throwing the second giant shuriken. Both of them easily dodging the projectile before Naruto went straight for Mizuki. Mizuki blocked his punch before evading the kick that followed it. Hinata came at Mizuki from the side with a Juuken strike aimed at his right shoulder. Mizuki barley dodged the strike, only to receive a punch to the face from Naruto. As Mizuki staggered back Hinata went in for a strike to the chest, disabling his chakra completely and knocking him unconscious.

As Mizuki's body fell to the ground, Naruto grabbed Hinata and swung her around as he cheered, "Yeah we beat him. That was awesome, dattebayo!"

Hinata could only nod in agreement as her face turn red and she struggled not to faint.

"Naruto, Hinata, what are you doing here," The familiar voice of Iruka called out as he arrived at the clearing, "The village is on high alert, someone stole the Scroll of- Wait, is that Mizuki?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei," Naruto responded, "I'm the one who stole the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage tower."

"What? But Naruto…" Hinata was caught off guard before Naruto gave her a look that told her to play along.

"Mizuki-sensei gave me an assignment that he said everyone would be doing individually," Naruto explained, "He told me to steal the scroll and bring it to him without being caught. Hinata saw me leaving the village and followed me. Mizuki revealed it was a trick to take the scroll and betray the village. H-he told us about the Kyuubi, just before he tried to kill us. We beat him and knocked him unconscious. I'll take any punishment necessary for my actions."

"Oh," was all Iruka could respond to the revelation, "Come on Naruto, Hinata, lets talk to the Hokage about this."

Iruka picked up Mizuki's body and the scroll before indicating for them to follow him.

"Naruto why?" Hinata quietly asked him as they started running behind Iruka.

"It's ok Hinata," Naruto assured her, "You'd be in a lot of trouble with your family if they found out. I'll take the blame, so you don't have to worry about it."

Tears started to well up in her eyes as she said, "Naruto I can't let you be punished for my actions-"

"No Hinata," Naruto cut her off, "I can't let you be punished for being tricked by a teacher who should've been trusted. The Old Man will let me off easy. Your family won't because of their reputation."

"Thank you," Hinata conceded as they approached the village.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So, as this chapter revealed, the main story will be starting when Naruto is 16. There will still be all of the part one arcs (Wave, Chunin Exams, Tsunade, etc.), but everyone will be older, and some events will be shuffled around. I'm using canon as a rough outline, but everything will be turned on its head. Mizuki in this chapter is a sample of how things will be changed so they seem brand new.**

 **I did this for two reasons. One, it's an interesting way to mix things up. Two, this story will probably have lemons, and I understand that some people might not be comfortable with the idea of 13-year-olds going at it, even if they act like adults.**

 **There won't be an immediate time skip for 4 years. There still is some character building to be done. Not to mention, getting Naruto into the CRA and forming the harem. Also, even though the rookie 9 have been delayed, everyone else is still moving forward.**

 **I would like to ask you guys how you feel about me using Japanese suffixes (san, kun, chan, nii, etc.). I haven't used them yet because I'm afraid I'll mix them up, but when rereading my story it feels weird not to see them when so many other Naruto fics use them.**

 **Please leave a review, I really enjoy reading them.**


End file.
